Making your new year resolutions stick

I did a little research and found many articles that seemed to suggest making New Years Resolutions is a waste of time because only about 10 percent of people have stuck with them past Valentines day. A couple of articles even suggested that making and not succeeding with New Years Resolutions could make any mental health issues worse.

I initially felt a little deflated but then asked myself is there a different approach that I can take to have a better chance at sticking with my intentions? 

Like many things in life, resolutions and intentions for the year could be approached with a rigid perfectionistic set of rules or with a self compassionate and gentle approach focusing on celebrating the wins, starting again if something doesn’t work and an understanding that Rome wasn’t built in a day. I think also our resolutions shouldn’t be made from a place of feeling like we have to fundamentally fix who we are as a person. When making my resolutions for the year I tried to think about what I’m already doing that I want to ensure I don’t lose focus on and new habits or focus areas that will support me to feel good and spend 2021 being as happy and healthy as I can. My other important mindset focus is that I have the whole year to work towards them all so I don’t put too much pressure on myself all at once - hopefully that doesn’t mean I’ll procrastinate til December.

In my research I found some other tips that I’ll share below:

The Simple Rephrase

This Huffington post article reports on research conducted that they claim to be the biggest research conducted on New Years Resolutions and says increasing the chances of sticking to your resolutions is as easy as “Simply rephrase your resolution as something positive you’d like to commit to doing, rather than something you’d like to stop”.

Accept Failure

Annabel Candy says accepting failure is important to ensure perseverance that will help you try again til you eventually succeed. She says “If you do fail and sneak a cigarette, miss a walk or shout at the kids one morning don’t hate yourself for it. Make a note of the triggers that caused this set back and vow to learn a lesson from them.”

Pick the right resolution

Jen A Miller says the secret sauce is in picking the right resolution which should be do-able and meaningful to you. She also warns that “And a resolution may be wrong for one of three main reasons:

• It’s a resolution created based on what someone else (or society) is telling you to change.

• It’s too vague.

• You don’t have a realistic plan for achieving your resolution.”

Break it down

MetLife suggest “A great way to stick to your New Year’s resolution is to break it down into smaller steps. Instead of planning to lose 20 pounds, instead try to lose 2 pounds a month.”

Create routines and habits

A Psychology today article from Cornell University concluded from a review of many studies that “people who create routines surrounding behaviors they want to encourage are more likely to follow through, and less likely to do something else. The data suggest that habits are more important to achieving goals than sheer determination or willpower.” I’m pleased to read that habit may help me overcome a lack of willpower.